The World of Aviation

BAE Systems Australia has won a $270 million contract to add the Project Sea 1442 Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) capability to Australia’s seven remaining ANZAC class frigates, after the successful upgrade, trials, and service release of HMAS Perth earlier this year. The work, which requires the replacement of the forward and aft masts on all ships, is

Air New Zealand is ratcheting up its frequent flyer card in a bid to replace most of the rest of the cards in your wallet. Air New Zealand’s new Airpoints loyalty card will include an optional pre-paid debit card as well as an ePass tag to ease domestic check-in. Once activated, the MasterCard branded debit

Lockheed Martin has rolled out the first F-35B Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft for the United Kingdom. The jet, BK-1, will undergo functional fuel system checks before heading to the flight line for ground and flight tests in the coming months. It is to be delivered to the UK for training and further testing in

The RAAF has launched a red on blue training exercise designed to test air defence capabilities. The East Coast Air Defence Exercise (ECADEX 11) began Monday off the coast of central New South Wales and will run through December 9. It pits a ‘Red’ opposing force against a ‘Blue’ friendly force attempting to protect Australian

Virgin Australia frequent flyers will be able to earn and redeem points online with Westfield under a new partnership between the airline and shopping centre management group. Virgin says the new program is in response to market research that shows non-flight rewards such as retail purchases nearly as popular with Australian frequent flyers as flight

Hoping to inject some “typical Aussie character” into its “traditional Cantonese inflight experience,” China Southern Airlines has launched a recruiting drive looking for some very Australian flight attendants. The drive netted 400 applications in its first week and will wrap up next month in Sydney before moving on to Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth next year.